Letter to the Editor

Letter: Lisa Weik ‘Hits the Right Notes’ on Property Taxes

Woodbury resident Mark Anderson voices his support for the incumbent Washington County Board member.

The other day Lisa Weik, candidate for re-election to the Washington County Board, stopped by my house. She was going door-to-door in the Colby Lake neighborhood to meet fellow Woodbury residents and listen to constituent concerns about the county, especially after redistricting. I was thoroughly impressed with Lisa's knowledge of county and local issues and her commitment to providing a voice to the citizens in her district.  Lisa Weik's focus on keeping county property taxes low hit all the right notes for me. She is committed to holding the line on spending and streamlining delivery of county services. Effective, efficient and accountable government is not just a political talking point. Being accountable to the taxpayers means that …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter: Lisa Weik Will Get My Vote this Fall

Dick Hanson chimes in on the race for the District 5 Washington County Board seat.

With the primary elections behind us, it's time to focus on the upcoming general election, especially with the new boundaries after redistricting impacted local races. During her short tenure on the Washington County Board, Commissioner Lisa Weik has done an incredible job representing the interests of taxpayers in the county, including veterans and small business owners. She worked hard to ensure Washington County and Woodbury's business interests were "at the table" when the new Minneapolis/St. Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership was launched to grow commerce and living wage jobs. I've also witnessed firsthand Lisa's dedication to public service, and especially military families, while volunteering together with the Woodbury …

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Paul Whackernutz

10:49 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012

She may be representing what she perceives to be Woodbury's interests, but she's done a poor job in my experience listening to Woodbury citizens. She completely ignored constituent wishes (and not one or two, but hundreds) on the CR 19 rebuild project. Worse, she flip-flopped her positions between the original public meeting (against the roundabouts) to later supporting them. Like the experience …   more ›

In Woodbury, Remakel to Challenge Weik for County Board Seat

Retired District 833 teacher plans to take on commissioner who has been on the county board since 2008.

Former Woodbury City Council member Nancy Remakel will run against Lisa Weik for the District 5 seat on the Washington County Board of Commissioners. “I really like local government,” said Remakel, a longtime science teacher in District 833. “You can touch people’s lives directly.” Currently the chair of the Woodbury Planning Commission, Remakel has also served on the Washington County Library Board and worked as the publicity chair for Woodbury’s open space referendum. Remakel, a 34-year resident of Woodbury, told Patch that transportation, protecting natural resources and using county tax dollars efficiently are her main priorities. Meanwhile, Weik issued a release this week announcing that she has filed for the newly redrawn District 5 …

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Paul Whackernutz

4:42 pm on Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Lisa hasn't done anything for the homeowners who reached out to her about the Woodbury Drive expansion. Good luck Ms. Remakel!   more ›

Pulkrabek Unsure Whether He’ll Move to Oakdale or Stay and Face Weik

Washington County Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek says he’s gotten calls from people encouraging him stay and run against Commissioner Lisa Weik this fall.

Washington County Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek says he doesn’t necessarily oppose a new district map that puts his home outside of Oakdale’s district and into one shared with Woodbury Commissioner Lisa Weik, but he does oppose how it came about. “It’s just more upsetting to me that we’ve had a process we followed. We’ve been working on it for months,” he told Patch. “We were all in agreement. Then Gary (Kriesel) and Lisa (Weik) basically show up and stab you in the back.” The county board on April 10 had informally agreed on a redistricting plan, choosing from five options, he said. But the board switched gears Tuesday and approved an entirely new plan, with Pulkrabek being the lone vote against. The new plan was based on maps emailed out …

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Patty Busse

7:43 am on Friday, April 20, 2012

We heard from City of Woodbury that they did send official correspondence to the Washington County Board stating the city's position against the board's preferred redistricting option, contrary to the statement from Bill Pulkrabek that Scandia was the only city that officially responded. The Woodbury letter has been added to the PDF section of this article.   more ›

Letter to the Editor

Commissioner Weik: Talking Transportation In Woodbury

The Washington County Board member who represents most of Woodbury says progress is being made on I-94 study, new St. Croix River bridge.

As fall takes the stage as the next act in our theater of seasons, a number of topics, such as the annual budget, are up for discussion on the county level. But the most prominent and important topic was transportation this summer. The Gateway Corridor Commission was created in 2009 to study and plan alternative transportation options for the area along Interstate 94. The transportation study is looking at alternatives to alleviate congestion along I-94 that includes a new St. Croix River Crossing and transit options. As chair, I work with local elected officials and community leaders in the Gateway Corridor. Commission members are Ramsey County and Washington County Regional Railroad Authorities, the cities of Afton, Lake Elmo, Lakeland, …

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Pulkrabek's Lack of Conference Report Stirs Board Members

Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek said he wanted to wait to give his report until Commissioner Dennis Hegberg was present.

Disagreement about follow-up reports from the National Association of Counties conference broke out between Washington County Board members at the July 26 meeting. Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek declined to give a report on his participation in the conference, saying he wanted to wait until  Commissioner Dennis Hegberg was present. (Hegberg, who also attended the conference, was absent from the meeting due to a death in the family.) Meanwhile, Commissioner Autumn Lehrke gave a report on the sessions she sat in on at the national conference in Portland, OR. Because three commissioners attended the conference, the board's July 19 meeting was canceled. Commissioner Lisa Weik, who did not attend the conference, said she didn't see why Pulkrabek …

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Washington County Commissioners Butt Heads on Out-of-State Travel

Commissioners who argued that three board members don't need to go to a Portland, OR, conference were outvoted.

Two Washington County commissioners who questioned the timing of sending three commissioners to an out-of-state conference in July were outvoted Tuesday, following a heated discussion. Commissioners Lisa Weik and Gary Kriesel said only two board members should attend the National Association of Counties' Portland, OR, conference to cut costs and prevent having to cancel the July 19 board meeting due to lack of a quorum. With an impending state government shutdown and tight budgets, they argued it’s bad timing to cancel the meeting and spend money unnecessarily. “Just because we’ve budgeted something doesn’t mean we need to spend it,” said Weik, who represents most of Woodbury. Autumn Lehrke—who along with Dennis Hegberg and Bill Pulkrabek …

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Washington County Budget Goes Up, Amount Taxpayers Will Contribute Remains Flat

Meanwhile, Commissioner Myra Peterson floats the idea of adding two members to the board during discussions of commissioners' pay.

While Washington County will spend about $33 million more in 2011 than it did in 2010, the amount taxpayers have to kick in will remain the same. The Washington County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved its 2011 budget and levy. The budget increase (to $216.6 million total) is covered by nearly $36 million in anticipated bond proceeds and additional intra-governmental funds from the local, state and federal levels, according Melinda Kirk, a county budget analyst. That means taxpayers will pay the same $86.78 million into the budget that they did in 2010. "Taxpayers should know that we worked on a very constrained budget," said Commissioner Lisa Weik, who represents the bulk of Woodbury on the county board. "We had a choice …

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